ISE Newsletter

November 2001, Volume 1, Issue 1

Conference Report editorial Building Bridges with Traditional Knowledge II Dear reader 28 May - 1 June 2001, Honolulu, Hawaii USA This is the first issue of the ISE News- Summary of the Conference letter, an information bulletin of the In- ternational Society for Ethnopharmacol- ogy. This bulletin will be published ap- The second in a series, this conference was conceived as an "Inter- proximately twice a year. We plan to national Summit Meeting on Issues Involving , Conser- inform you about upcoming and past vation, Sustainable Development, and Ethnoscience." The Summit Co- activities and events in the field of eth- ordinator is Professor Will McClatchey, an ethnobotanist in the Department nopharmacology (e.g. conferences, news of , University of Hawaii. from the ISE board meetings). We will Concurrent morning sessions ranged widely across such themes as also include breaking news from the intellectual property rights, traditional ecological knowledge, applied meth- publishing front (e.g. recent publications ods in , ethics, teacher education, and conservation of Hawai- and interesting web sites). Several col- ian knowledge. A plenary afternoon session on each conference day was de- umns will always be reserved for a stu- dent’s view points. Of course, we also voted to a major geographical region Ð Africa, North and South America, want to draw your attention to or remind Europe and the Mediterranean, Asia, and the Pacific. Cultural representa- you of our forthcoming conferences, the tives of these regions presented their views of traditional knowledge. Eve- next one to be held in Pretoria (Jan. ning sessions were organized around key speakers who addressed the rela- 2003). Unfortunately, this issue also tionship of traditional knowledge to health, conservation of cultural and bio- contains the obituary of two very distin- diversity, and identity. Hawaiian culture was highlighted throughout the guished ethnopharmacologist who conference through traditional chant, dance (hula), music, and crafts. passed away during the early months of As part of the conference the ISE convened an interim meeting, and this year. The Newsletter will only be vi- the Society for Economic Botany its 42nd annual meeting. ISE Past- able, if all contribute to it and we there- President Nina Etkin organized the symposium "Ethnopharmacology: fore would like to invite you to submit interesting material to us. Also, please Building Bridges between Natural Product Chemistry and Traditional let us know what you think about it Knowledge," which met for two morning sessions and included these pres- (mailing to [email protected]) and entations: we will try to include your advice and Nina Etkin, Paul Ross, Aki Funahashi, Jessica Busch, JD Baker: wishes in the upcoming issues. "Ethnopharmacology: Building Bridges to Where?" Rudi Bauer: "Traditional Chinese Drugs: Their Application and With our best regards, Evaluation in Western Medicine" Barbara Frei Haller (Editor) Walter Lewis: "Traditional and Western Medicine: How Bridges Can Lead Michael Heinrich (ISE President) to New Therapeutic Discoveries" Charles Wambebe: "Bridging Research to the Clinical Use of Plant Medi- P.S. In the future this newsletters will be available in a printed and an on-line cines" version, for you to choose (see p. 3) Continued on page 2

I n th is i ss ue

Editorial Third International 1 Report from Building 3 Congress on Ethno- 5 Darrell Addison Posey 8 Student’s Viewpoint Bridges Conference; botany, Naples, Italy (Obituary) Honolulu, Hawaii, USA Impressum Richard E. Schultes Editorial of the Journal 4 Web Pages 6 (Obituary) 9 of Ethnopharmacology XVI Simpósio de Upcoming ISE- Plantas Medicinais do Conference, Preto- A Selection of More Up- Membership Application/ 2 Brasil; Recife, Brasil 7 10 Renewal 2002 ria, South Africa coming Conferences 1 ...... Elaine Elisabetsky and Gabriela Coelho de Souza: " and Ethnopharmacology as Tools for Diversify- ing Economic Activities in a Mata Atlantica Biosphere Reserve Community" Gamaniel K. Shingu: "Ownership and Sustainability Issues in Botanical Medicine" Michael Heinrich: "Ethnopharmacology or Bioprospecting: Two Sides of the same (Western) Coin?" Barbara Frei Haller and Stefan Mueller: "Probing the Foundations - Reflections on the Actors and Their Envi- ronment in the Field of Ethnopharmacology" Patrick Owen: "Graduate Studies in Ethnopharmacology: Building Bridges Between Disciplines" Memory Elvin-Lewis: "Conceptual Similarities in Traditional Treatments for Hepatitis" Daniel Moerman: "Prescription sticks": Indigenous 19th Century Pharmacopoeias The symposium was organized around the theme of interdisciplinary inquiry, with a view toward a future in which we craft our diverse objectives and methods into an ethnopharmacology that yields not only collaboration among different researchers but also the application of that knowledge to practical ends for indigenous communi- ties. Participants were encouraged to address research objectives and methodology. We were challenged further to consider how we can reconcile that research conducted during the last two decades has yielded an enormous amount of information on plant constituents and activity, and on traditional uses, with virtually no practical appli- cation. Presentations and discussion addressed how the results of sophisticated medical ethnography and rigorous bioassays can be meaningfully integrated, translated, and applied to the populations who use those plants.

Professor Nina L. Etkin, Past President ISE, Interim Chair, Department of Anthropology, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii USA

Conference Report Brazil. With a growing number were eight poster sections: of participants and studies dis- Pharmacology and Microbiol- XVI Simpósio de Plantas played, from less than a 100 in ogy (247 works), Chemistry 1978 to more than 700 in 2000, (123), Pharmacognosy (118), Medicinais do Brasil this symposium is unique since and Pharmacotechnic and Qual- congregates pharmacologists, ity Control, Agronomy, Botany, The XVI Simpósio de Plantas chemists, botanists, agronomists Ethnopharmacology and Toxi- Medicinais do Brasil (Sympo- united by the common interest in cology. sium of Brazilian Medicinal studying and developing Bra- There were three satellites sym- th th Plants) happened 17 to 20 zilian medicinal plants. posium: Phytotherapy and pub- October last year, in Recife The last symposium approached lic health care: social-economic (Pernambuco State, NE Brazil). subjects of national and interna- aspects, acceptation and de- tional interest related to medici- mand; Medicinal plants, biodi- nal plants, like the national poli- versity and the future of tropical tics regarding biodiversity, re- ecosystems; Phytotherapics: re- search & development, technol- search, development and tech- ogy and public health care. nology. Round tables discussed: Moreover, the discussions of is- The Brazilian program of me- sues on the future of medicinal dicinal plants and the perspec- plant research were highlighted, tive of acquirement finish prod- such as the visible loss of diver- ucts; Anti-oxidative activity of sity in the tropical ecosystems. plants; Clinical pharmacology of The important role of Brazil in phytotherapics; Phytotherapics the international scenery of bio- regulatory issues; Biotechnology diversity and medicinal plant claims for phytotherapic pro- studies was discussed during the duction. conference by Dr. Gordon Eight mini courses were avail- Cragg from NCI (USA). able for undergraduate and Dr. Claude Léger, Université du graduate students: lichens as Monpellier (France) gave a very therapeutic agents, ethnophar- This national biannual meeting well attended conference on macology, standardization and is the reference meeting regard- “Mediterranean alimentation: an botanical control of phy- ing medicinal plant research, example of natural and sponta- totherapics, isolation and char- development and technology in neous phytotherapy”. There acterization of active principals 2 ...... Continued on page 3 ISE Newsletter from plants, lectines: biological Get upcoming issues of ISE Impressum activity, domestication and cul- Newsletter on-line! ISE Newsletter, Bulletin of the tivation of medicinal plants, ex- International Society for Ethno- perimental methodological ap- pharmacology proaches for studying active If you prefer to get the ISE Newsletter as principles from medicinal an on-line version, please send an email 2 issues per year to plants. [email protected] Barbara Frei Haller, PhD (Editor) Unfortunately, conservation is- [email protected] sues were overlooked, an area with the following text “ISE Newsletter Palü 142a which the Symposium has re- as on-line version” CH-7530 Zernez/ Switzerland peatedly being requested to as- Indicate whether you prefer: Acrobat sign the necessary importance. Reader format or plain text format. Michael Heinrich, PhD (Co-Editor) If you like a paper version, don’t do [email protected] Gabriela Coelho de Souza, Ana Paula anything and your postman will bring it Schulte Haas and Elaine Elisabetsky to you! Deadline for next issue: 01.03.02 Ethnopharmacology Laboratory UFRGS Ð RS - Brazil Future of Ethnobotany: tices to adapt to economic liber- Moving Fast, Going Where? alization, climate change, lan- Conference Report (Plenary Lecture). guage shift, migration and other Another (appropriate) focus was global trends. In addition, it de- THIRD on the Ethnobotany of the scribes how ethnobiologists are INTERNATIONAL Mediterranean Area. This was, adopting innovative concepts, among others, highlighted in one methods and applications in CONGRESS OF of the symposia which covered their quest to design long-term ETHNOBOTANY numerous aspects of this cultur- research and training programs Ethnobotany in the Third Mil- ally and biologically diverse re- on bicultural diversity. These lennium: Expectations and Un- gion. Many of the presentation developments are situated in the resolved Issues focused on Spain, for example current politicized context in Naples, Italy on plants used as food in Central which questions of traditional September 22-30, 2001 Spain, ichtiotoxic plants, histori- resource rights, national laws University of Naples Federico cal aspects (Al-Andalus) from and international conventions II, Botanical Garden and the 10th to the 15th century), are having an increasing impact Department of Plant Biology others on Italy, for example on on field programs. Adaptive the use of medicinal and food ethnobiology is producing re- The city of Naples, located 200 plants in ethnic Albanian com- sults useful to communities as km south of Rome, was founded munities. On the other hand re- local people and ethnobiologists by the Greek and has been one search on modern Arabic coun- form partnerships with repre- of the hubs of European civili- tries were conspicuously absent; sentatives of government agen- zation for centuries. It continues F. Ertug’s study ‘An Ethnobo- cies, non-governmental organi- to be a center of cultural and in- tanical Research in Friday Mar- zations, universities and re- tellectual activity. The confer- kets of Bodrum (Mugla, Tur- search institutes to promote ence was hosted by the Botani- key)’ was the only and very sustainable habitat and resource cal Garden and the Department stimulating exception. A signifi- management and appropriate of Plant Biology of the univer- cant percentage of the partici- economic development.’ sity. Two of the key-note lec- pants came from Mexico, dem- Hew Prendergast, Andrea tures were given by researchers onstrating how active the schol- Pieroni and Christan Vogl had well known in the field of eth- arly community of this country organized an informal meeting nopharmacology and ethno- is in the field of ethnobotany of scholars interested in ethno- botany: and . botanical research in Europe. • N. Alexiades (U. Kent at Another symposium focused on During this meeting vivid dis- Canterbury, UK). Ethno- ‘Adaptive Ethnobiology’. Ac- cussion on possibilities for joint botany in the Third Millen- cording the organizers G. Martin projects and on European fund- nium: Expectations and Un- and D. Novellino the term was ing opportunities were ad- resolved Issues (Key Note). coined with a dual meaning: ‘It dressed. • N. Etkin (U. Hawai’i, USA refers to how local people rely This was an exciting and and Past President, ISE) The on their knowledge and prac- stimulating conference. The next Continued on page 4 3 ...... one is to be held in about three years in Turkey (organized by F. A Selection of Ethnopharmacology Related Web Pages Ertug and colleagues) and (Some from the editor’s favorite list:) hopefully it will attract researchers from Arabic • International Society of Ethnopharmacology (ISE): countries as well as from Africa http://www.ethnopharmacology.org/ and Asia, parts of the world • Royal Botanic Garden, Kew: Economic Botany Links conspicuously absent from the http://www.rbgkew.org.uk/scihort/eblinks/ conference. • People and Plants Online: Michael Heinrich, ISE Newsletter http://www.rbgkew.org.uk/peopleplants/index.html • Society for Economic Botany (SEB): http://www.econbot.org • National Tropical Botanical Garden, Kalaheo, Hawaii: http://ntbg.org/

Upcoming ISE-conference. 08 - 11 January 2003 in Pretoria. All members should have received the first circular and we hope to see many of you in Pretoria. For this confer- ence we will draw the attention of the scholarly community to the important role that Africa has played in the de- velopment of modern medicine, as well as to the specific needs of African nations to further develop their phy- tomedical systems. The scientific program will also highlight important African plants widely used as phytomedi- cines, e.g. Devil's Claw (Harpagophytum procumbens) and Prunus africana. Similarly, we will address the role ethnopharmacology can play in AIDS prevention and treatment as well as in (re-) emergent diseases, such as ma- laria and dysentery. Much will be learned about phytomedicines in primary health care in Africa and the conti- nent’s cultural and biological diversity. The planning for the conference is well under way. However, we still are trying to get funding for this venue. Please contact us with any suggestions and ideas for this conference.

Contact and further information: Joint SAAB/ISE CONGRESS Department of Botany University of Pretoria Pretoria 0002 SOUTH AFRICA Web-address: http://www.up.ac.za/academic/botany TEL.: 27-(0)12-4203770 EMAIL: [email protected]

Right after the conference several tours to interesting regions in South Africa will be held. The following regions will presumably be visited (see webpage): • Eastern Cape • Northern Province • Little Karoo • Richtersveld • Kruger Park • North/South Namibia

Michael Heinrich, ISE Newsletter

4 ...... Obituary videos, stimulated ethnobiologi- (Pará, Brazil) the First Interna- cal studies in the country, the tional Congress of Ethnobiol- formation of research groups in ogy. It attracted hundreds of re- Darrell Addison Posey the various ethno-disciplines and searchers from 35 countries as have influenced the national well as several indigenous view of Amazonian Indians and groups from various countries. This spring, the North American the area resources. Many young The Congress resulted in the ethnobiologist Darrell Addison researchers were inspired by his founding of the International Posey died in Oxford at the age passion in becoming dedicated Society of Ethnobiology and the of 39 (properly celebrated for to Ethnobiology. Many Amerin- Declaration of Belém, which the last 14 years), victim of a dian leaders, as well as leaders called for protection of native melanoma. Born and raised in from other traditional communi- knowledge, use, and manage- Henderson County, Kentucky, ties, benefited from his generos- ment of biological resources as he earned the B.S. in Entomol- ity in putting into context, dis- well as human rights of native ogy at Louisiana State Univer- cussing and clarifying relevant peoples. The international sup- sity in 1970, the M.A. in geog- questions regarding their rights port and activism in these areas raphy and anthropology at Lou- and resources, as well as from were crucial for the quiet drop- isiana State University in 1974, the doors that Posey«s influence ping of the charges against and the Ph.D. in anthropology at opened for them. Posey and the two Kayapó lead- the University of Georgia in Among the numerous awards ers. 1979. His fieldwork among the Darrell Posey received for his Darrell Posey rarely passed un- Kayapó Indians in the State of work and activism were the noticed. He generated vast ap- Pará (Amazonia, Brazil) began “Chico Mendes Award” for Ex- preciation and resentment. Po- at 1977. It started a prodigious traordinary Courage in the De- litically, he had passionate de- professional career and a pro- fense of Nature, given by the fenders and the ferocious oppo- found evolvement with Brazil. International Sierra Club in sition of adversaries. Contro- His sensibility and absolute lack 1989 and the United Nations versy and constant questioning, of prejudice, associated with the “Global 500 Award” for Out- either political or scientific, peculiar blend of his education, standing Achievement in Serv- were his allies as sources of re- contributed to render him ice to the Environment, be- search, learning and teaching acutely conscious of the com- stowed on him by the U.N. En- strategy. Darrell was known for plexity of Kayapó lore regarding vironmental Program in 1993. his good humor, and even in the natural resources, including an worst moments he would always integrated management of A particularly noticeable mo- come up with a proper joke, plants, animals, soils, all or- ment in his political combat took funny exquisite saying learned chestrated by cosmology. place in 1987 when Darrell ac- from different cultures and Darrell was one of the very first companied two Kayapó Indians never lacked stamina for good scientists to value and put in to the World Bank in Washing- conversation, food and booze. practice interdisciplinary re- ton DC, where they denounced His absence will be as marked search, highlighting its impor- the unbelievable consequences as his presence, since he leaves tance in the field of Ethnobiol- of the planned Xingú hydroe- us an intellectual legacy, an ogy. lectric dam to indigenous peo- ethical and moral example and Posey left a definitive mark on ples inhabiting the area to be much, much, much saudades*. ethnobiology in a truly global flooded. As a result of this visit manner. He authored or co- and associated negative public- authored three books, edited or ity the World Bank cancelled the Saudades is a Portuguese word, appar- co-edited four books, wrote 154 U$ 1 billion loan required. Upon ently with no counterpart in other lan- articles and chapters, and pro- guages, expressing the feeling associ- their return Posey and the two duced 22 book reviews. ated with missing someone or some- Kayapó leaders were indicted In Brazil, Posey is considered thing. Saudades is a feeling often sad based on Brazilian law that pro- but that in time fulfills the soul with the the father of Ethnobiology. The hibits foreigners with permanent warmth of memories of a great affec- data from the Kayapó project, visas to engage in local political tion. and the well succeeded efforts to affairs, as well as for harming make it known by a broader the Brazilian reputation abroad. audience than just readers of Prof. Dr. Elaine Elisabetsky Despite the pressure, Posey or- Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do scientific journals, which in- ganized and hosted in Belém Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil cluded museum exhibits and

5 ...... Obituary liam Burroughs and Carlos 19th century British naturalist Castaneda, writers who consid- . The impression Richard E. Schultes ered as the gate- left by those passages was so ways to self-discovery. Dr. powerful that the boy decided to Adaptation of an article by Jonathan Schultes may have contributed follow in Spruce's footsteps. Re- Kandell, The New York Times, April to the with his ceiving a full scholarship to 13, 2001 ethnobotanical discoveries, but Harvard, Mr. Schultes wrote an Richard Evans Schultes, a to him these were the sacred undergraduate paper on the plants of Indians that should be mind-altering properties of pe- swashbuckling scientist and in- studied for their medicinal yote, based on research he un- fluential educator who was widely con- value. He was in many ways a dertook with Kiowa Indians in throwback to an earlier epoch of Oklahoma who ingested the sidered the preeminent authority scientific research. He had no in ceremonies to on hallucinogenic and medicinal plants, died on April 10 in Bos- interest in publicity or self- commune with their ancestors. promotion. Rather than confine For his doctoral thesis, also at ton at the age of 86. Dr. Schultes himself to a narrow specialty, he Harvard, he chose the plants was rightly called the father of was a generalist who criss- used by the Indians of Oaxaca, a ethnobotany. Over decades of crossed several scientific disci- southern state of Mexico. In his research, mainly in Colombia's plines. Dr. Schultes taught more research there, he came across a Amazon region, he documented by personal example than by the species of seeds the use of more than 2,000 me- use of forceful intellect. His that contained a natural form of dicinal plants among Indians of a tribes, many of whom had lecture room resembled an eth- LSD. nographic museum, with huge In 1941, Dr. Schultes traveled to never seen a white man before. maps of Amazonia, native dance the Colombian Amazon, where Tall, muscular, wearing a pith helmet, he hiked and paddled costumes, demon masks, opium he would spend most of his pipes, dried specimens of me- field, and an area Spruce had through Amazonia for months at dicinal and hallucinogenic studied. At first, Dr. Schultes a time. He collected more than 24,000 plant specimens. More plants, and a blowgun for poi- concentrated on plants that pro- son- tipped darts, whose use he duced curare. This substance, than 120 species bear his name, sometimes gingerly demon- used by Indians as a fast- as does a 2.2 million-acre tract of protected rain forest in Co- strated in class. His former stu- dissipating poison to hunt prey, dent, Dr. Plotkin, recalled a also proved to be vital as a mus- lombia, Sector Schultes, which lecture in which the professor cle-relaxant during major sur- the government there set aside in 1986. showed slides of masked danc- gery in hospitals. The professor ers in the Amazon under the in- identified more than 70 plant Dr. Schultes was a pioneering fluence of a hallucinogenic po- species from which the Indians conservationist who raised tion. Referring to himself, Dr. extracted curare. Dr. Schultes alarms in the 1960's — long be- Schultes told the class: "The one was deep in the Colombian rain fore environmentalism became a on the left has a Harvard degree. forest when news of Pearl Har- world-wide concern — that the Next slide please." bor reached him more than a rain forests and their native cul- Richard Evans Schultes traced week after the Japanese attack. tures were in danger of disap- pearing under the onslaught of his fascination with the South He immediately made his way American rain forests to the back to Bogotá, the Colombian modern industry and agriculture. fantasies evoked while he was capital, and visited the United He reminded his Harvard stu- dents that more than 90 tribes bedridden as a child. He was States Embassy to enlist in the born on Jan. 12, 1915, in Bos- armed forces. But the United had become extinct in Brazil ton, where his father was a States government decided his alone over the first three- quarters of the 20th century. plumber and his mother was a World War II services would be homemaker. Confined to his much more valuable as a bota- Dr. Schultes's research into room for months with a stomach nist doing research on natural plants that produced hallucino- gens like and ailment when he was about 5 rubber, particularly since the years old, he listened enraptured Japanese occupied the Malayan made some of his books cult fa- to excerpts read to him by his plantations that accounted for vorites among youthful drug ex- parents from "Notes of a Bota- much of the world's rubber sup- perimenters in the 1960's. His nist on the Amazon and the An- plies. Dr. Schultes soon became findings also influenced cultural des," a travel diary kept by the the leading expert in the field, icons like , Wil- Continued on page 7 6 ...... ISE Newsletter collecting and studying more transported for days before he in the journal The Sciences, than 3,500 specimens of Hevea, could receive proper treatment. asserting, "The Indians' the tree family that produces the To collect and preserve plant botanical knowledge is latex from which rubber is specimens, Dr. Schultes devised disappearing even faster than the made. a method field researchers still plants themselves." In 1953, Dr. Throughout the 1940's and until use today. He soaked his plants Schultes moved back to the the early 1950's, Dr. Schultes in formaldehyde diluted with United States as a professor and lived almost continuously in the water and then pressed them botanical researcher and curator South American rain forests, between newspaper sheets. On a at Harvard. Six years later, he with only brief visits to the good day, out in the forest, married Dorothy Crawford United States. On his journeys Schultes would collect 20 or 30 McNeil, an opera soprano who through the tropics, he traveled specimens that he thought mer- performed in Europe and the lightly. He navigated scores of ited further attention. Along a United States. His wife survives tributaries of the Amazon River, riverbank, where foraging was him, as do their three children. using an aluminum canoe that he easier, he sometimes bagged 80 could handle himself, though he or 90. Often Dr. Schultes would Dr. Schultes, who retired from usually hired Indians as paddlers consult local Indian shamans Harvard in 1985, published 10 and guides. His supplies in- about the properties of these books and more than 450 cluded a single change of cloth- species. A number of these me- scientific articles. For 18 years, ing, a camera and film, a ham- dicinal plants now carry his beginning in 1962, he edited the mock and blanket and a machete name, including, among many scientific journal Economic and clippers for plant collecting. others, Pouroma schultesii, a Botany. He served as an active For food, he carried only cans of bark whose ashes are used to member of the editorial boards instant coffee and baked treat ulcers, Piper schultesii, a of Horticulture, Social beans, preferring to rely on food stem brewed as a tea to relieve Pharmacology, the Journal of offered by his Indian hosts. This tubercular coughs, and Hiraea Latin American Folklore, included the ground manioc schultesii, leaves whose soak- Journal of Ethnopharmacology roots that were their staple, fish, ings are used to cure conjuncti- wild game, insect grubs, fruit vitis. and other publications. Among numerous awards, he received and chicha, a drink made from Dr. Schultes asserted that the 1992 gold medal of the fruits chewed and fermented by contrary to popular conceptions, Linnean Society of London, spittle. His medicine kit con- Indian shamans were eager to which is often equated to a sisted of vitamins, antibiotics share their medical secrets with Nobel Prize for botany. and morphine — in case he outsiders. But "time is running broke a limb and had to be out," he warned in a 1994 article Barbara Frei Haller, ISE Newsletter

A Selection of More Upcoming Conferences

3rd International Conference of Anthropology and the History of Health and Disease: "Living and healing old age in the world (Ethnogeriatry - Ethnogerontology)", March 13-16, 2002, Genova (Italy)

First International Conference and Exhibition of the Modernization of the Chinese Medicine (ICMCM 2002), March 14 - 17, 2002, Hong Kong, (China) http://www.icc.com.hk/ICMCM

International Conference on Medicinal Plants, Indigenous Knowledge and Benefit Sharing, April 16-19, 2002, The Hague, (The Netherlands), [email protected]

PSE Symposium on: "Dietary Phytochemicals and Human Health" April 18-20, 2002, Salamanca (Spain) http://www.usal.es/phytochem/netsymposium.html

2002 Annual Meeting of the Society for Economic Botany, “Origin, Evolution, and Conservation of Crop Plants: A Molecular Approach”, June 22-27, 2002, New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, New York (USA) http://www.econbot.org/

WORLD CONFERENCE ETHNOTHERAPIES, October 11-13, 2002, University of Munich, Germany http://www.institut- ethnomed.de

7 ...... Student’s Viewpoint that the necessary instructions tative data are not, the most ex- and training are acquired in or- pendable aspect of an ethno- der to obtain a more holistic per- pharmacological inquiry is the Graduate Studies in spective of their project. This collection of ethnographic data. Ethnopharmacology: usually means that natural sci- As a result, projects which were Bridging the Intellectual ence students are encouraged to originally positioned as ethno- become familiar with anthropo- pharmacology become straight Chasm between the logical field techniques, and for forward pharmacological inves- Natural and Social Sci- those in social science to be- tigations using plant (or other) ences come familiar with laboratory material as a lead. These de- procedures. Ultimately, both the velop into manuscripts submit- Ask any graduate student con- natural and the social science ted to journals such as JEP, and ducting ethnopharmacological student should be able to pro- contribute to the increasing research about their experiences duce a well integrated thesis number of acontextual pharma- in practicing interdisciplinarity which adequately reflects the cological reports which continue in their program and each will interdisciplinary nature of eth- to threaten the interdisciplinary have a different response. Some nopharmacology. objectives with which the jour- will attest that it is virtually im- However, the natural science nal was originally conceived. possible, while others will student does not have the same In order to encourage more in- maintain that it is readily feasi- academic conditions and ad- terdisciplinary research which ble. The principal challenge vantages as their social science encompasses the social science entails bridging the academic counterpart. Fieldwork is con- domain, it is suggested that gap that exists between the so- sidered a fundamental process natural science departments and cial and natural sciences, for the anthropology student, policy-makers allow additional thereby incorporating sufficient and may comprise as much as time for any project that entail “ethno” in a pharmacological eighteen or twenty-odd months extended field studies and/or investigation in order to prop- of the degree. As a result, an- anthropological work. Funding erly position the work as ethno- thropology, and social science agencies can also provide pharmacology. students in general, are recog- monetary supplements which There is substantial agreement nized as having a longer com- can be applied for. By alleviat- among researchers in ethno- pletion time to obtain a doctor- ing some temporal and financial pharmacology that not enough ate than those in the natural sci- pressure from natural science pharmacological data is contex- ences. According to the National students, the likelihood of sub- tualized with adequate ethno- Research Council, between mitting reports which integrate graphic data, as illustrated in a 1987-1992, the median years of bioscientific data with tradi- recent analysis of the contents of graduate studies to obtain a tional empirical knowledge the Journal of Ethnopharmacol- doctorate in anthropology was would increase, thereby main- ogy (JEP) (Etkin, 2000; Etkin & 11.57, while that in chemistry taining the interdisciplinary Ross, 1997). Since graduate stu- was 6.85 (NRC, 1995). Funding standards of ethnopharmacol- dents are significant contributors bodies also recognize this dif- ogy. to journals, deficiencies in the ference and support students ac- Etkin, N.L., 2001. Perspectives in eth- interdisciplinarity of a manu- cordingly. The Social Science nopharmacology: forging a closer link script may reflect the type of and Humanities research Coun- between bioscience and traditional em- training provided by their cil of Canada (SSHRC) supports pirical knowledge. Journal of Ethno- graduate programs. Ethnophar- a doctoral candidate for up to 48 pharmacology 76, 177-182. macology rarely achieves the months, which is twice as long Etkin, N.L., Ross, P.J., 1997. A disci- status of a degree-granting aca- as that offered by the Natural pline maturing: past trends and future demic department, which means Science and Engineering Re- direction in ethnopharmacology. In: that students must configure search Council (NSERC). The Guerci, A. Salute e Malatta: Indirizzi e their thesis through specializa- natural science student is there- Prosettive. Erga Edizioni, Genova, pp. 85-95. tion of pre-existing disciplines. fore compelled to complete their Although the university provides degree before relatively shorter NRC. 1995. Research B Doctorate Pro- the tools and instruction to ob- departmental deadlines and be- grams in the United States: Continuity tain adequate interdisciplinary fore funding is exhausted. Be- and Change. National Academy Press, Washington D.C. training, it is up to the student cause laboratory analyses are and their supervisor(s) to insure degree requirements, and quali-

Patrick Owen, School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition, McGill University, Canada 8 ...... ISE Newsletter

Journal of Ethnopharmacology: An interdisciplinary journal devoted to indigenous drugs

The editorial statement of the Journal of Ethnopharmacology has remained practically unchanged since the Journal was first published in 1979. Since then numerous studies in the Journal dealing with medicinal and other useful plants as well as their bioactive compounds have used a multitude of concepts and methodolo- gies. In many cases these were interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary studies combining such diverse fields as anthropology, pharmacology, pharmacognosy / pharmaceutical biology, natural product chemistry, toxicol- ogy, clinical research, plant physiology and others (see Soejarto, DD, 2001, Journal of Ethnopharmacology 74: iii). However, many studies still only pay lip services to such interdisciplinary research and there still remains an urgent need to further strengthen the contributions made by anthropology and other social and cultural sciences as well as to explore the political and social implication of our research. Since 1996 the Journal has been the official journal of the International Society for Ethnopharmacology Ð ISE. After recent discussions of the membership during the meeting of the Society in Zurich (CH) in Sep- tember of 2000, the board took the initiative and we proposed a revised statement to the editors and the pub- lisher. We are happy to inform you today about the outcome of this discussion. With this new statement we want to draw attention to the importance of nature-derived products (plant extracts and pure compounds) in the healthcare of the original keepers of such ethnopharmacological knowledge. This needs to be a main goal of truly interdisciplinary ethnopharmacological research. Ethnopharmacology will also contribute to the de- velopment of new pharmaceutical products for the markets of the North. Also, truly anthropologically ori- ented research on medicinal plants requires not only a detailed understanding of these medicines, but also the scientific support to autochthonous developments in order to make better use of these products. The revised statement can be found on the inside cover of the Journal and reads as follows: The Journal of Ethnopharmacology is dedicated to the exchange of information and understandings about people's use of plants, fungi, animals, microorganisms and minerals and their biological and pharmacological effects based on the principles established through international conventions. Early people confronted with illness and disease, discovered a wealth of useful therapeutic agents in the plant and animal kingdoms. The empirical knowledge of these medicinal substances and their toxic potential was passed on by oral tradition and sometimes recorded in herbals and other texts on materia medica. Many valuable drugs of today (e.g., atropine, ephedrine, tubocurarine, digoxin, reserpine) came into use through the study of indigenous reme- dies. Chemists continue to use plant-derived drugs (e.g., morphine, taxol, physostigmine, quinidine, emetine) as prototypes in their attempts to develop more effective and less toxic medicinals. In recent years the preservation of local knowledge, the promotion of indigenous medical systems in primary health care, and the conservation of biodiversity have become even more of a concern to all scientists work- ing at the interface of social and natural sciences but especially to ethnopharmacologists. Recognizing the sovereign rights of States over their natural resources, ethnopharmacologists are particularly concerned with local people's rights to further use and develop their autochthonous resources. Accordingly, today's ethno- pharmacological research embraces the multidisciplinary effort in the:

• Documentation of indigenous medical knowledge, • Scientific study of indigenous medicines in order to contribute in the • Long-run to improved health care in the regions of study, as well as • Search for pharmacologically unique principles from existing indigenous remedies.

The Journal of Ethnopharmacology publishes original articles concerned with the observation and experi- mental investigation of the biological activities of plant and animal substances used in the traditional medi- cine of past and present cultures. The journal will particularly welcome interdisciplinary papers with an eth- nopharmacological, an ethnobotanical or an ethnochemical approach to the study of indigenous drugs. Re- ports of anthropological and ethnobotanical field studies fall within the journal's scope. Studies involving pharmacological and toxicological mechanisms of action are especially welcome. Clinical studies on efficacy will be considered if contributing to the understanding of specific ethnopharmacological problems. We hope this will further encourage the scholarly community to submit exciting manuscripts, especially ones, which broaden our theoretical understanding in this exciting and rapidly developing discipline. On behalf of the editors we also would like to encourage the submission of reviews especially ones focusing on recent methodological developments in the field. Michael Heinrich, President, ISE, Book Review Editor, JEP 9 ...... Membership Application / Renewal 2002

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